


Having a Blast

by Danny (DannyC)



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Bombing, Character Death, F/M, Heavy Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 08:25:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7969522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DannyC/pseuds/Danny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason takes Barbara out for a night at the ballet, but even on their days off, they can't escape the terrible violence tha plagues Gotham City.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Having a Blast

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't really have a concrete reason for what happens in this fic; it's based on a prompt I was given in which one dies in the other's arms, and that's exactly what happens. Like the characters, we remain unaware of exactly what's transpiring around them, but hopefully that won't take away from the story too much. It is sad and angsty, and there is no happy ending. I hope you enjoy.

“Okay, what are we going to see again?” Barbara asked, quirking her brows up as she looked over at Jason. She had tried not to ask, didn’t want to ruin Jason’s rarely jovial mood by attempting to find out what he had deemed a surprise, but she couldn’t help herself. _Surprises_ hadn’t interested her in quite some time.

“I _told_ you, I’m not **telling** you,” Jason said in what could likely be described as a sing-song voice, a smirking grin fixed on his lips. He was clearly pleased with himself, excitement in his eyes as he looked Babs over again. She was beautiful. Hell, she was always beautiful, but she was all gussied up tonight, dressed in a gorgeous dress with her hair drawn up for their outing. Likewise, Jason had suited himself in a fitted tux, happily fancying himself up for his plans. _Secret_ plans, as he so happily reminded Barbara yet again

“Jason, it won’t make it any less special if you tell me,” she tried to assure, but a smile was already pulling over her own lips; Jason just looked… _happy_. It was rare and special, and Barbara decided that this was worth waiting to be surprised; she trusted Jason, and that trust allowed her to relax into the seat of the car, smoothing her dress over her legs before folding her hands in her lap, watching the city passing by.

When they arrived, Barbara’s eyes widened slightly. She knew where they were, and that told her what the surprise was. Jason was already looking at her when she turned her gaze to him, shock registering on her face. “Jason, this–”

“Is where we’re going to watch a fancy-ass ballet, yeah,” Jason agreed, nodding his head. That probably wasn’t at all what she had planned to say, but Jason was too pleased with himself to care. Barbara looked slightly less thrilled, and Jason was fairly sure it had to do with being confronted with this, but he didn’t let it stop him. Clearing his throat, he continued quickly, keeping her from refusing him. “I’ve already got the tickets. It’s supposed to be really great, you know? I thought, I dunno, we could see this, get some dinner, make a night of it. What do you think?”

Jason looked so earnest, so hopeful, that after a brief hesitation, Barbara relented. It was difficult, but Jason wanted this, and some part of her wanted it too. Jason thought it was one more step, another step closer to helping her heal, and perhaps that was true. For him, as well; she was no stranger to the knowledge that Jason didn’t think he was Jason anymore, that he refused to believe he could have a life outside of the Red Hood. Tonight, she thought, could be good for both of them.

Jason helped her out of the car and into her chair, but Barbara wheeled herself through the spanning halls of the theater. They had an elevator that lifted them to a further floor, Jason having gotten them private seats where they could see the stage perfectly as well as the orchestra, and the two of them settled in comfortably. Jason even held Bab’s hand, giving her a little squeeze as he watched the ballet and listened to the music. 

It was beautiful. It really was, and more than that, _Barbara_ was beautiful. Jason smiled as he looked over at her, seeing how rapt her attention was; he reached over and gently tucked a curl behind her ear, fingertips lingering on her cheek long enough to draw her gaze to him. Jason could feel a flush high on his cheeks, and for a moment, he held very still.

_I love you_ , he thought.

As he made his move to lean in and kiss her, a loud sound made him pause, the entire building quaking before things began to shift. It was like the whole place was falling in on itself, and it was; another explosion rocked them, and Jason stood, covering Barbara as well as he could. The floor to their box gave way beneath them though, and for a moment they were falling.

Jason landed in a heap beside Barbara, blacking out there on the floor as explosions and screams erupted around him. Rubble was crumbling down, trapping people or squishing them. Something warm ran down into Jason’s eyes as he began to come to once more, blinking through blood and dust. He coughed, a pained groan escaping him as he looked around. 

“Babs?” he called, croaked really, his voice feeble and hoarse, “Babs? Barbara, where are you?” he called. Her wheelchair was a few feet away, tipped on its side and dented in where a chunk of the ceiling had fallen on it. Jason crawled that way, one of his legs on fire with pain that made him whimper despite his dampened nerves. Compound fracture, he thought distantly as he drug himself closer. 

“Babs?” he called again, choking on smoke and soot. A flash of her dress, and Jason began digging. His fingers bled like when he’d clawed his way up from the grave, but this time he was digging down. “Barbara, hang on,” he croaked, finally drawing more plaster aside until he saw her. She looked.. wrong. He was glad she had no feeling in her legs, one was crushed beneath some rubble and bleeding. Something else though, told him something was wrong, that _everything_ was wrong.

It went against all of his training, but Jason was concussed and afraid, quickly scooping Barbara up and holding her to his chest. He shifted, crying out faintly as his broken leg twinged sharply, but he needed to be able to hold her. “Barbara? Hey, look at me baby,” he begged, trembling hands brushing her hair back, “Come on sweetheart. Open your eyes,” he begged. A sound was rattling in her each time she drew in a breath, the bubbles in the blood at her mouth telling him what he feared. Her lungs were ruined, at least one punctured or crushed. 

“Babs, _please_ ,” he begged weakly, quiet and uncertain. She wasn’t responding to him, and only two more awful rattles shook her lithe frame before she stilled in his arms. Jason continued holding her, looking around him distantly as he sat in the ruined theater, the sounds of sirens quickly approaching and the moans of survivors lulling him into a daze.


End file.
